Google’s startup incubator, Umbono, has officially launched with the announcement of its first set of winning teams. The pilot programme based in Cape Town, South Africa presented the teams in their new office space at an event on 1 November.The programme, a Google first worldwide, is being tested in Cape Town, South Africa which was chosen because Google believes the city is in “the process of positioning itself as a hub for innovation and technology”.Google's vice president of engineering, ...

The web is in a state of transition where the experience and more so, the language of the web is receiving a makeover. This update, however, does not just improve the functionality, but promotes everybody to speak the same language. The open web, or a standardised architecture, is very promising and this doesn't necessarily need to happen in one extreme and daunting overhaul. That's according to Robert Nyman, Technical Evangelist for Mozilla.The experience of the Web is evolving along with ...

Mobile adoption rates are going through the roof and the sheer ease of use of the devices is driving this adoption even harder. Devices are now able to allow coupon redemption with location tracking and even credit card purchases. The danger is in becoming too enthusiastic with the use of mobile devices for their convenience and cool factor and allowing the security of information to be a little lax.Where is the security issue? People using their mobile devices to complete transactions ...

"Get a geek, or geekify yourself." That was the message to journalists from storyful's Gavin Sheridan. He was conducting a workshop on crowdsourcing news content at the 2011 FoME symposium. FoME is a German network of institutions and individuals who promote media development cooperation. The subject of the symposium was "Hype or Hope: The impact of digital media on journalism and development", and I was there to speak about everything from the iconic image of a defeated Gaddafi filmed on ...

Legendary lead guitarist for rock icons The Who, Pete Townshend, has attacked Apple’s iTunes music store accusing it of bleeding musicians like a "digital vampire"."Is there really any good reason why, just because iTunes exists in the wild west internet land of Facebook and Twitter, it can't provide some aspect of these services to the artists whose work it bleeds like a digital vampire... for its enormous commission?"The 66-year old rocker made the startling statements at the inaugural John Peel ...

From the air, to the ground and now to the inside of our businesses, Google is inching ever closer to its dream of giving people a chance to view each and every part of the world. Google Maps, the free online mapping engine, is now giving small businesses the capability to let users view the inside of their establishments.The panoramic images were tested last year April as volunteers within each business, be it a fast-food chain, a gym or a ...

A brand new website has launched with the aim of providing people with information about the journalists behind the bylines.News Transparency operates off a Wikipedia-type model and is the brainchild of Ira Stoll.Stoll is the founder of another website called FutureOfCapitalism.com and a former managing editor of the now defunct New York Sun.In a statement on the site's front page, News Transparency said that its aim is to help "you find out more about the people who ...

Politicians and high-profile tech leaders from over 60 countries are heading to London to discuss the benefits and security risks of cyber-space.Among those attending the two-day conference are US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and the heads of Chinese tech firms.The event has attracted around 900 delegates, although few commentators expect unity from participants who frequently disagree about the exact opportunities and challenges presented by cyber-space.The conference has a broad agenda and ...

"OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW," the last words uttered by the iconic Steve Jobs have been revealed in an incredibly moving eulogy by his sister Mona Simpson, in the form of an op-ed published in the New York Times.In the piece, Simpson -- who is Jobs' biological sister -- tells the story of how she first met him after a lawyer contacted her with a cryptic message saying that "his client was rich and famous and was my long-lost ...

I was quite taken aback to discover a very interesting article posted on the ABC news network's Technology Blog, called The Case For Piracy. What I found surprising about this, was that a mainstream media company had actually published an article that presents an argument defending piracy. What is also quite interesting is the sheer number of positive comments about this article. After taking some time to read through the article, I felt quite split in my opinion on the ...